This invention relates in general to body and frame assemblies for vehicles. In particular, this invention relates to an improved structure for a joint between two or more structural members in such a vehicular body and frame assembly that facilitates the application of a coating of a material thereto after assembly of the joint.
Many land vehicles in common use, such as automobiles, vans, and trucks, include a body and frame assembly that is supported upon a plurality of ground-engaging wheels by a resilient suspension system. The structures of known body and frame assemblies can be divided into two general categories, namely, separate and unitized. In a typical separate body and frame assembly, the structural components of the body portion and the frame portion of the vehicle are separate and independent from one another. When assembled, the frame portion of the assembly is resiliently supported upon the vehicle wheels by the suspension system and serves as a platform upon which the body portion of the assembly and other components of the vehicle can be mounted. Separate body and frame assemblies of this general type are found in most older vehicles, but remain in common use today for many relatively large or specialized use modern vehicles, such as large vans, sport utility vehicles, and trucks. In a typical unitized body and frame assembly, the structural components of the body portion and the frame portion are combined into an integral unit that is resiliently supported upon the vehicle wheels by the suspension system. Unitized body and frame assemblies of this general type are found in many relatively small modern vehicles, such as automobiles and minivans.
In both separate and unitized types of vehicular body and frame assemblies, a plurality of structural members are connected together to form the body and frame assembly. At each location where two or more of these structural members are connected together, a joint is defined. Because a typical vehicular body and frame assembly is composed of a relatively large number of structural members, a relatively large number of joints are defined therein. At each of the joints, the connection between the associated structural members may be accomplished using a variety of joint-forming mechanisms. For example, the structural members may be connected together by means of threaded fasteners, welding, adhesives, and the like. Usually, portions of the structural members are moved into abutment with one another to allow the joint-forming mechanism to connect them together.
In some instances, it is desirable to provide some or all of the structural members of the vehicular body and frame assembly with a coating of a material. For example, it is often desirable to provide some or all of such structural members with a protective coating of a corrosion resistant material. In the past, these coatings have been applied individually to each of the structural members before they were assembled and connected together to form the vehicular body and frame assembly. This was done to insure that all of the surfaces of all of the structural members, including those surfaces that abutted one another at the joints of the vehicular body and frame assembly, were properly coated with the material. Although effective, this process has been found to be relatively time consuming and expensive. To address this, it has been proposed to initially assemble and connect some or all of the various structural members together, then to apply the coating to the assembled vehicular body and frame assembly. However, the initial assembly of the vehicular body and frame assembly makes is difficult to apply the coating of the material to the portions of the structural members that abut one another at the various joints. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved structure for a joint between two or more structural members in such a vehicular body and frame assembly that facilitates the application of a coating of a material thereto after assembly of the joint.